Driver Interviews – Italian Grand Prix Preview With McLaren

“With the new wider, faster cars this year – it will definitely be another circuit where we’ll see a new fastest lap and some incredibly high speeds on the straights.”

“It’s the fastest circuit on the calendar in terms of outright speed and for a driver, it’s an incredible feeling racing down those iconic straights, punctuated by the tight chicanes and big, fast corners that require a huge amount of commitment.”

“We’ve always said that this circuit wouldn’t suit our package and we expect a tough challenge, although it’s power-hungry like Spa, it’s also different in many ways.”

“Spa is a long race, the Monza circuit is short and sharp and the race always feels like it’s over quickly.”

Stoffel Vandoorne – “Monza is a cool place, I’ve driven there in Formula Renault 3.5 and also in GP2 and I won there in both series so I know the circuit really well and have always enjoyed racing there.”

“The fans are great and they always show a lot of passion, you feel like you’re swept away in their enthusiasm over the whole weekend.”

“Spa was definitely a tough race for us and we’ve always identified the Belgium and Italy would be two difficult weekends for us. It was hard to manage our pace with the rest of the pack on the straights.”

“We’re now preparing ourselves for the same thing at Monza but of course, we’ll push hard throughout the weekend and try to give ourselves the best chance of a good result.”